


Blacks, Badges, and Bellatrix on the Loose

by Rosie_Rues



Series: The Rising Storm [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 1971, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-01-24
Updated: 2006-01-24
Packaged: 2017-10-22 19:06:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/241507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosie_Rues/pseuds/Rosie_Rues
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>It's only twenty minutes since they left King's Cross, and Head Girl Andromeda Black already wishes term was over. All she needs to do is stop Lucius sulking and find out who the new Head Boy is - oh, and stop the rest of her family killing anyone before they get to Grantham...</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Blacks, Badges, and Bellatrix on the Loose

Andromeda Black really didn’t think it was fair. The train had only just hurtled through Peterborough and she already had a pounding headache. She crossed her arms and glared at the perfectly attired specimen of brooding manhood draped across the compartment.

“Aren’t you a little old to pout, Malfoy?”

Lucius curled his lip at her. “Your levity is abhorrent, Black.”

“Dear, dear Lucius. You flatter me. Whatever is wrong with you?”

He shot another soulful stare at her and said, languid voice unusually sharp, “You are Head Girl.”

“Yes,” she said with a sigh. She didn’t want the position if it meant her last year would be spoilt by having to put up the irritating little fop. “And you’re-”

“-not Head Boy,” Lucius said dangerously and set his thin lips.

“Gosh,” Andromeda said insincerely. “How frightful.” She tried to fix an appropriately sympathetic expression on her face, but curiosity overcame her. “Ah, do you know who is?”

Lucius flowed to his feet, robes swirling, and stormed out of the compartment, slamming the door so hard it jumped in its frame.

Not a Slytherin, then.

Andromeda exited, heading down the train. She needed to summon a prefects’ meeting. She ran through the list of male prefects from the other three houses. Frank Longbottom was perfectly affable, and made a formidable enemy for a Hufflepuff. Lionel Lovegood was bright and passionate, if a little eccentric, even for a Ravenclaw. Then, of course, there was Gryffindor.

She wasn’t going to think about Gryffindor.

Lucius was in the last compartment in the carriage, his forehead pressed to the window as MacNair and Goyle tried to comfort him. Andromeda, whose mood was improving steadily, tapped on the glass and called, “Prefects’ meeting at twelve, Malfoy.”

She got another slow look of infinite reproach.

She found Lionel Lovegood standing outside the loo, his legs crossed as he frowned down at _Up In Smoke: A Revisionist Biography of Ignatia Wildsmith_.

“Hello,” Andromeda said warily. Lionel had an unfortunate habit of collecting explosive materials by accident. “Good holidays?”

“Smashing, thanks, Black. Almost got a photo of the Avoident Irridiculus. Blasted thing dodged.”

“How amazing.” He didn’t seem to be wearing a badge. With Lionel you could never be sure. He might have pinned it to his vest. “Um, Lovegood? Are you Head Boy?”

Lionel looked vaguely alarmed. “I don’t think so. Nobody’s told me I am. They would remember, wouldn’t they?”

“I’m sure they would,” Andromeda said. “Thanks. If you’re desperate, there’s another loo in the next coach.”

He looked at her as if she was mad. “I don’t need the loo, Black. I’m waiting for the spectre to reveal itself.”

No, it has probably always been unlikely that Dumbledore would choose Lionel as Head Boy. Andromeda waved goodbye and set off in search of Frank Longbottom.

On the way she broke up three fights, noted the existence of at least seven pets which weren’t owls, toads, rats or cats, rescued a second-year Hufflepuff from inside a luggage rack and confiscated a book of decidedly illegal curses from a tiny new boy with greasy hair and a nose that took up half his face.

She eventually found Frank Longbottom in the middle of a compartment of Gryffindors. Andromeda, who had enough noise in the holidays when she was stuck with Bella, gritted her teeth and slid the door open.

“What do you want?” demanded Frank’s Gryffindor girlfriend.

“Hello, Alice,” Andromeda said. “Have you lost weight? Frank, hello. Jessamy, good time in Greece? ”

“Super,” squeaked Jessamy nervously.

“Wotcher, Black,” the last occupant of the compartment said flatly.

“Hello, Tonks,” Andromeda replied, her throat tightening, and turned back to Frank. She couldn’t see a badge there either. Her stomach went cold. Oh, no. What had she done to deserve the humour of the fates? Or the humour of Dumbledore, come to think of it? “Nice holiday, Frank?”

“Why should you care?” Alice demanded.

“Manners, darling. Not a Gryffindor thing, I know.”

Frank sighed and put his hand on Alice’s arm, squeezing gently. He looked at Andromeda thoughtfully. She could have sworn he smirked when he saw her badge. He said, “Tough luck, Black. I’m not Head Boy.”

 _Bugger_. “You’re taking it much better than Malfoy. He’s still trying to devise an elegant way to throw himself out of the train window.”

“He wouldn’t,” Ted said, without turning round. “It would ruffle his robes. What do want, Black?”

“I’ve just come to spy on your defences. Once I’ve discovered how to infiltrate your common room I intend to lead an army of courteous and sophisticated people to hex you all into politeness.”

“I’m rather selective about who I’m polite to.”

“Help,” Jessamy muttered, ducking behind Frank. “Can anyone remember any decent shield charms?”

“Try _Protego_ ,” Andromeda said, keeping her voice light. How dare he still hold a grudge? A year of cold hatred was a year too long. Of course, in pureblood terms, a century’s feud was a brief spat but still… Ted Tonks was a muggleborn. He should know better.

“Again, Black, what do you want?”

Of course, she hadn’t expected him to take it well when she called him a mudblood fortune-hunter. That had rather been the point. There were limits, though. Just because you loathed someone, it didn’t mean you had the right to be rude to them. She cleared her throat and said, trying not to make her politeness offensive this time, “I was trying to find out who was Head Boy.”

“Why?” Ted asked. She could just see the ghost of his reflection in the window. A scowl looked wrong on him.

Andromeda shrugged. “Oh, no reason. I just happen to be Head Girl.”

Ted swore and swung round. “You?”

He’d grown again. It was entirely unfair that he could loom. Andromeda set her shoulders and looked up at him, lips forced into a smile.

“You?” Ted said again, with more disdain than anger, and it stung.

Andromeda tossed her hair. “The very same.”

“I hope you don’t expect me to congratulate you.”

“The feeling’s mutual, Tonks. However, we have certain administrative duties which must be addressed. Prefects’ meeting. Twelve.”

“You don’t get to decide that on your own.”

“We always-”

There was an ear-piercing scream from the corridor. Screams didn’t usually worry her but this one was young and sounded genuinely terrified.

Andromeda and Ted jammed in the doorway and she elbowed him sharply to get free before she took off down the corridor. Ted overtook her in seconds and Alice, Frank and Jessamy soon caught up.

Bellatrix had caught a firstie.

The small redhead was dancing in the middle of the corridor, her feet moving without her control as she screamed. Her robes were new and overlong and she kept stepping on the hems, tearing them. Bellatrix had her wand fixed on her, a grin spread across her face. She’d lost Narcissa somewhere but little Sirius was close on her heels, his eyes wide with admiration.

“Stop it!” the girl shouted, lashing out for Bella and then screaming again as her arms jerked back. “Leave me alone!”

“ _Finite Incantatem!_ ” Ted roared.

Andromeda levelled her own wand and yelled, “ _Crinligare!_ ”

Bellatrix shot backwards across the corridor, her long ponytail straightening into a horizontal rope. Then her hair knotted around the handle of the loo, pulling tight. She shrieked with rage and Sirius wailed, “Bella!”

Alice rushed forward to gather up the firstie, who had slumped to her knees in the corridor.

Bella was screaming now, at the full pitch of her lungs. Andromeda advanced on her, fighting back her own temper. She had had enough.

“Ten points from Slytherin,” she said coldly. “There will be two more for every second you continue making that revolting noise.”

Bella’s jaw dropped. After a moment of silence she blustered, “You can’t take points, Meda. Term hasn’t started.”

“I can and I have,” Andromeda snapped but Ted cut over her, “Is that your excuse for being a bully, Miss Black?”

Bella smirked. “We were just having a bit of fun.”

Andromeda’s hand tightened on her wand. Bella’s head thumped back against the wall.

“Leave her alone!” Sirius burst out, fists clenched. “Let her go, Meda!”

“Sirius, be quiet,” Andromeda said, furious. How dare Bella drag him into this on his first day?

“I won’t be quiet. You’re the bullies. You’re hurting her.”

Bella’s hair was still winding round the handle, tighter and tighter. Andromeda relaxed her grip on her wand, a trifle guiltily. Ted’s hand pressed on her shoulder and he said, “Who’s this?”

“My cousin Sirius,” Andromeda said. “Sirius, this is Ted Tonks. He’s the Head Boy.”

“I don’t know any Tonkses.”

“You do now,” Andromeda said warningly.

Sirius glared up at her, as ferocious as Bella. “Then the Head Boy’s a bully.”

The little redhead was still scrubbing her hands across her eyes.

Andromeda bent down and looked Sirius in the eyes. This close, he looked more upset than angry. “Do you remember the talk we had a few weeks ago? About things being different at school?”

Sirius set his jaw stubbornly. “Bella said-”

“And if Bella told you to apparate into a volcano, would you?”

“I wish you’d apparate into a volcano!” Bellatrix snarled. “Sirius, hex her!”

Sirius wavered, reaching for his wand, and then hesitating.

“Do it, and I’ll be taking points off Slytherin the moment you’ve been Sorted. You don’t want to start your school career like that. I promise you.”

Sirius looked at Bella who shook her head slightly and said, “She’s right.”

Oh, how she loved the sound of Bella’s teeth grinding.

“Right,” Ted said. “You, most minor Black, get back to your seat. Middling Black, I’ll be speaking to your Head of House. Don’t push your luck or you’ll be doing detention during the Quidditch tryouts. Black major, anything to add?”

“What have you done with Narcissa?” Andromeda demanded, releasing her wand altogether.

Sirius pouted, backing towards the door. “Narcissa’s boring.”

“She’s fine,” Bella said gracelessly, untangling her hair. “I left her worshipping at Malfoy’s feet.”

“Well go and get her,” Andromeda snapped. “You’re meant to be looking after her.”

Bellatrix sniffed and marched away.

Andromeda was left with the others and a tearful firstie. Alice had managed to dry her tears and mend the rip in her robes. Now she was saying, “Any better, carrots?”

“I’m not carrots!” the firstie protested, her voice clogged with tears.

“What’s your name, then?”

“Lily Evans.”

“Well, then, Water-Lily, let’s find you somewhere better to sit.”

“I’m not a water-lily, either.” She had taken a step back, suspicious. Damn Bella.

“Better stop crying, then. You’re muggleborn, aren’t you, flower?”

“What if I am?” Lily asked nervously, looking between them.

“It means you’re in good company,” Frank said gently. “Ted there’s like you, and Jessamy.”

“And I’m a half-blood,” Alice said cheerfully. “Which is weird all in itself. You should have seen the fit my mum pitched after the cat drank dad’s pepper-up potion. There was smoke coming out of its ears for weeks.”

That got a weak smile.

“Now, I’m going to take you along to meet a few of the other girls. You’ll like Kathy. She’s a Gryffindor, like me and Ted and Jessamy.”

Kathy Marsh, who Andromeda knew by sight, was a cheery muggleborn. She’d keep an eye on the kid until they got to Hogwarts and, though she wished it wasn’t necessary, would warn her against trusting purebloods and Slytherins.

Andromeda stood back against the wall as Frank and Alice bustled the kid away. The fields were rushing past outside, still golden. She closed her eyes and tried not to worry about the form Bellatrix’s revenge would take.

“I’ll go and patrol past the belle and her lot,” Jessamy said softly. “No such things as too many prefects around them.”

“I’m sorry,” Andromeda said, eyes still closed. “I apologise for my relatives.”

“Can’t choose our families,” Ted said, and there was a note of compassion in his voice which made her want to throw herself out the window.

She shook her head. “We still have to live with them.”

“Mmm.” Ted leant against the wall beside her, but said nothing. Andromeda, appreciating the quiet, stayed beside him. After a moment, he began to tap his fingers against the window. She didn’t protest. She’d never seen him completely still. He was always fidgeting, or balanced on the edge of something, or pacing. He was by far the messiest person she’d ever known, both in gesture and appearance. Even now his brown hair was falling into his eyes and his robes were inside-out.

“Glad to be back?”

She jumped and said, “ _Yes_.” This was her last year of freedom. Once it was over her world would narrow around her. She would be her mother’s companion until she married advantageously. Then her society would consist of only those of proper blood and status. Half the people she knew at Hogwarts would vanish from her life as if they’d never existed.

“Could be interesting, this.”

“I don’t like the word _interesting._ It’s Gryffindor for disastrous.”

Ted snorted with laughter.

At that moment, her sister Narcissa came hurtling into the corridor, wailing, “Meda! Meda! Meda!” and an explosion sounded from the opposite end of the train.

Narcissa hit her at full speed, eyes wide with woe. “Lucius Malfoy’s occupying the loo and I need to go!”

Ted, who had started to move towards the bang, paused. “Occupying the loo?”

Narcissa nodded. “He says it’s a peaceful protest but he’s locked all the other doors and there’s hundreds of people in the queue. Meda! I’m desperate.”

“I’ll deal with Malfoy,” Andromeda said to Ted. “You go that way.”

Ted took off at a run. Andromeda let Narcissa tug her down the train. At this rate, it would be a miracle if they made it past Grantham.


End file.
